Company Update (NASDAQ:CLNE): Clean Energy Fuels Corp Reports 74.4 Million Gallons Delivered and Revenue of $86.9 Million for Second Quarter of 2015

Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) announced operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Gallons delivered (defined below) for the second quarter of 2015 increased 15% to 74.4 million gallons, compared to 64.8 million gallons delivered in the same period a year ago. Gallons delivered for the six months ended June 30, 2015 increased 21% to 149.6 million gallons, compared to 124.1 million gallons delivered in the same period a year ago.

Revenue for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015 was $86.9 million, a decrease of $11.2 million or 11% compared to $98.1 million for the second quarter of 2014. Approximately $5.6 million of the decrease was the result of lower fuel prices which were driven by lower commodity costs in 2015 compared to 2014. Construction revenue in the second quarter of 2015 was $5.2 million less than construction revenue in the second quarter of 2014, principally due to timing of revenue recognition. Revenue for Clean Energy Compression (formerly IMW), Clean Energy’s compression manufacturing subsidiary, was lower by $8.1 million when compared to the same period in 2014 due to the global decline in oil prices, the strength of the U.S. dollar, and slower than expected sales in China. Incremental volumes in the second quarter of 2015 over volumes in the same period in 2014 resulted in approximately $7.9 million in incremental revenue in the second quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.

Revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 was $172.7 million, a decrease of 11% compared to $193.4 million a year ago. This decrease was attributed to lower fuel prices driven by lower commodity costs, lower construction and Clean Energy Compression revenue, partially offset by higher revenue on increased volumes similar to the factors impacting the second quarter of 2015.

Andrew J. Littlefair, Clean Energy’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Despite the headwinds of lower oil prices, I’m very pleased with the improvement in our operating results for the second quarter of 2015. We improved our adjusted EBITDA by $3.0 million over the first quarter and continue to see volume growth year over year with significant reductions in SG&A and capital expenditures from a year ago. It’s rewarding to begin to leverage the investments we made over the last few years.”

Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2015 was $(2.6) million. This compares with Adjusted EBITDA of $(4.7) million in the second quarter of 2014. For the six month period ended June 30, 2015, Adjusted EBITDA was $(8.2) million, compared with $(11.5) million for the same period in 2014. Adjusted EBITDA is described below and reconciled to the GAAP measure net loss attributable to Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

Non-GAAP loss per share for the second quarter of 2015 was $0.29, compared with non-GAAP loss per share for the second quarter of 2014 of $0.28. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, non-GAAP loss per share was $0.61, compared with non-GAAP loss per share of $0.58 for the first six months in 2014. Non-GAAP loss per share is described below and reconciled to the GAAP measure net loss attributable to Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

On a GAAP basis, net loss for the second quarter of 2015 was $30.0 million, or $0.33 per share, and included a non-cash loss of $0.3 million related to the accounting treatment that requires Clean Energy to value its Series I warrants and mark them to market, a non-cash charge of $2.7 millionrelated to stock-based compensation, and $0.2 million in additional lease exit charges related to the move of the Company’s headquarters (HQ Lease Exit). This compares with a net loss for the second quarter of 2014 of $32.3 million, or $0.34 per share, which included a non-cash loss of $2.3 million related to the mark-to-market accounting treatment of the Series I warrants, a non-cash charge of $3.0 million related to stock-based compensation, a $0.3 million gain on the fair value adjustment of the remaining shares the Company received from Westport Innovations, Inc. from the sale of its former subsidiary BAF Technologies, Inc. (WPRT Holdback Shares Write-Down or (Write-Up)), and an additional $0.8 million in charges related to the HQ Lease Exit.

Net loss for the six month period ended June 30, 2015 was $61.1 million, or $0.67 per share, which included a non-cash gain of $0.6 million related to the mark-to-market accounting treatment of the Series I warrants, non-cash stock-based compensation charges of $5.4 million, and a $0.3 million charge related to the HQ Lease Exit. This compares with a net loss for the six month period ended June 30, 2014 of $60.9 million, or $0.64per share, which included a non-cash gain of $2.2 million related to the mark-to-market accounting treatment of the Series I warrants, non-cash stock-based compensation charges of $6.4 million, foreign currency losses of $0.3 million on the purchase notes issued in September 2010 by the Company in connection with its acquisition of IMW (IMW Purchase Notes), a $0.1 million charge from the WPRT Holdback Shares Write-Down, and a$0.8 million charge related to the HQ Lease Exit.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company’s consolidated financial statements, which statements are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures called non-GAAP earnings per share (non-GAAP EPS or non-GAAP earnings/loss per share) and Adjusted EBITDA. Management has presented non-GAAP EPS and Adjusted EBITDA because it uses these non-GAAP financial measures to assess its operational performance, for financial and operational decision-making, and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons on a consistent basis. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding the Company’s performance by excluding certain non-cash or non-recurring expenses that are not directly attributable to its core operating results. In addition, management believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors because: (1) they allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision-making; (2) they exclude the impact of non-cash or, when specified, non-recurring items that are not directly attributable to the Company’s core operating performance and that may obscure trends in the core operating performance of the business; and (3) they are used by institutional investors and the analyst community to help them analyze the results of Clean Energy’s business. In future quarters, the Company may make adjustments for other non-recurring significant expenditures or significant non-cash charges in order to present non-GAAP financial measures that the Company’s management believes are indicative of the Company’s core operating performance.

Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, the Company’s GAAP results. The Company expects to continue reporting non-GAAP financial measures, adjusting for the items described below (or other items that may arise in the future as the Company’s management deems appropriate), and the Company expects to continue to incur expenses similar to the non-cash, non-GAAP adjustments described below. Accordingly, unless otherwise stated, the exclusion of these and other similar items in the presentation of non-cash, non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as an inference that these costs are unusual, infrequent or non-recurring. Non-GAAP EPS and Adjusted EBITDA are not recognized terms under GAAP and do not purport to be an alternative to GAAP earnings/loss per share or operating income (loss) or any other GAAP measure as an indicator of operating performance. Moreover, because not all companies use identical measures and calculations, the presentation of non-GAAP EPS and Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Management compensates for these limitations by using non-GAAP EPS and Adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with traditional GAAP operating performance and cash flow measures.

Non-GAAP EPS

Non-GAAP EPS is defined as net income (loss) attributable to Clean Energy Fuels Corp., plus stock-based compensation charges, net of related tax benefits, plus or minus any mark-to-market losses or gains on the Series I warrants, plus or minus the foreign currency losses or gains on the IMW Purchase Notes, plus the WPRT Holdback Shares Write-Down or (Write-Up), and plus the HQ Lease Exit, the total of which is divided by the Company’s weighted average shares outstanding on a diluted basis. The Company’s management believes that excluding non-cash charges related to stock-based compensation provides useful information to investors because the varying available valuation methodologies, the volatility of the expense (which depends on market forces outside of management’s control), the subjectivity of the assumptions and the variety of award types that a company can use under the relevant accounting guidance may obscure trends in the Company’s core operating performance. Similarly, the Company’s management believes that excluding the non-cash, mark-to-market losses or gains on the Series I warrants is useful to investors because the valuation of the Series I warrants is based on a number of subjective assumptions, the amount of the loss or gain is derived from market forces outside of management’s control, and it enables investors to compare the Company’s performance with other companies that have different capital structures. The Company’s management believes that excluding the foreign currency gains and losses on the IMW Purchase Notes provides useful information to investors as the amounts are based on market conditions outside of management’s control and the amounts relate to financing the acquisition of the IMW business as opposed to the core operations of the Company. The Company’s management believes that excluding the WPRT Holdback Shares Write-Down or (Write-Up), and the HQ Lease Exit amounts is useful to investors because they are not part of or representative of the core operations of the Company.

The table below shows non-GAAP EPS and also reconciles these figures to the GAAP measure net loss attributable to Clean Energy Fuels Corp.:

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

(in 000s, except per-share amounts)

2014

2015

2014

2015

Net Loss Attributable to Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

$

(32,306

)

$

(29,962

)

$

(60,899

)

$

(61,109

)

Stock Based Compensation, Net of Tax Benefits

2,978

2,663

6,398

5,353

Mark-to-Market (Gain) Loss on Series I Warrants

2,286

300

(2,169

)

(583

)

Foreign Currency Loss on IMW Purchase Notes

—

—

343

—

WPRT Holdback Shares Write-Down or (Write-Up)

(341

)

—

122

—

HQ Lease Exit

757

243

812

344

Adjusted Net Loss

$

(26,626

)

$

(26,756

)

$

(55,393

)

$

(55,995

)

Diluted Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding

94,859,587

91,480,998

94,768,462

91,399,478

Non-GAAP Loss Per Share

$

(0.28

)

$

(0.29

)

$

(0.58

)

$

(0.61

)

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) attributable to Clean Energy Fuels Corp., plus or minus income tax expense or benefit, plus or minus interest expense or income, net, plus depreciation and amortization expense, plus or minus the foreign currency losses or gains on the Company’s IMW Purchase Notes, plus stock-based compensation charges, net of related tax benefits, plus or minus any mark-to-market losses or gains on the Series I warrants, plus the WPRT Holdback Shares Write-Down or (Write-Up), and plus the HQ Lease Exit. The Company’s management believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors for the same reasons discussed above for non-GAAP EPS. In addition, management internally uses Adjusted EBITDA to determine elements of executive and employee compensation.

The table below shows Adjusted EBITDA and also reconciles these figures to the GAAP measure net loss attributable to Clean Energy Fuels Corp.:

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

(in 000s)

2014

2015

2014

2015

Net Loss Attributable to Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

$

(32,306

)

$

(29,962

)

$

(60,899

)

$

(61,109

)

Income Tax Expense

147

740

1,109

1,594

Interest Expense, Net

10,130

9,973

19,640

19,868

Depreciation and Amortization

11,608

13,402

23,123

26,288

Foreign Currency Loss on IMW Purchase Notes

—

—

343

—

Stock Based Compensation, Net of Tax Benefits

2,978

2,663

6,398

5,353

Mark-to-Market (Gain) Loss on Series I Warrants

2,286

300

(2,169

)

(583

)

WPRT Holdback Shares Write-Down or (Write-Up)

(341

)

—

122

—

HQ Lease Exit

757

243

812

344

Adjusted EBITDA

$

(4,741

)

$

(2,641

)

$

(11,521

)

$

(8,245

)

Gallons Delivered

The Company defines “gallons delivered” as its gallons of compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable natural gas (RNG), along with its gallons associated with providing operations and maintenance services, delivered to its customers during the applicable period.

The table below shows gallons delivered for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2015:

Following the earnings release, shares of Clean Energy Fuels are down 2.63% to $5.55. CLNE has a 1-year high of $10.48 and a 1-year low of $3.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $6.17 and its 200-day moving average is $6.31.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp is engaged in selling natural gas fueling solutions to its customers in the United States and Canada. It also designs, builds, finances, and operates natural gas filling stations for vehicle fleets.